Reviews (7)

It depends...
Visually, the quality of the print is not satisfactory. Formulas are not easy to read, especially that nowadays we're used to professional mathematical typesetting.

About the content, I must say that it may be appropriate for an engineers perspective. Myself, trained in the mathematical rigor, found that it doesn't explain things well. It's just a recopilation of formulas and recipes that only makes sense if you've seen this before.

If you want to learn this stuff from scratch, I would recomend finding another book.

An outstanding tutorial reference
I love this book. I've owned three copies of it over the years and I can honestly say that I would not have achieved the final class of degree in Physics that I did without it.

The learning curve is very gentle - really nothing is assumed about the reader's background beyond basic integral and differential calculus. The concepts of vectors are introduced one by one, and the book builds logically towards its final stages (introductory tensor analysis) via, inter alia, dot and cross products, partial differential operators on vector spaces (grad, div, curl, Laplacian etc.), line and surface integrals (along with vital allied therorems such as Stokes' and Green's theorems), and general theory of curvilinear coordinate systems (in which the differential operators are refined and generalised).

This book is absolutely ideal for an undergraduate course in Physics, Electronic Engineering or Vector Analysis.

Reviews (21)

Great for review...not for first exposures
I took multivariable caculus and vector calc not terribly long ago.While I did okay in the class, I finished it feeling two questions were still a bit hazy: 1) What exactly is the significance (physical and computational) of all of these techniques and operators (div, surface integrals, curl...etc.)?, and 2) What's the big picture...how does this all fit together?.

While this book is absolutely fantastic, from it's laid back writing style to its clear emphasis on applications, it is not a textbook in the traditional sense.In other words, this book makes a great supplement (without a doubt, the most commonly recommended one) and a fantastic review book, but it should not be read to learn vector calc for a first time.Its proofs are fiated and incomplete (the author is the first to admit this) and scope is limited (again, the author seems to take pride in this fact).But who cares; that's not the point.The point is this: vector calc is one of the most beautiful ways to mathematically model various important areas in science and mathematics, and Schey isn't going to finish with you until you have a really great INTUITIVE understanding of what it is you're actually doing.

Scientists, engineers, and math lovers unite!This book is fun, easy to read, and great for filling in the gaps.It's been a classic for three decades, and it's a mistake for anyone with an interest in vector calculus to pass it up.

Excellent book, but not as a stand-alone text
As an undergraduate, I've already taken a course in multivariable calculus, and I found this text to be a quick and accessible review (you can read it in one sitting). That being said, I'm not sure if I would have gotten much out of it if I hadn't already had exposure to the subject. In addition to single-variable calculus, the book assumes knowledge of double and triple integration, which I didn't learn until I took a course in multivariable calculus. If you really want to learn the subject, but can't take a course in it for whatever reason, I'd recommend actually spending the $100 or so it takes to buy a textbook, and working through it on your own. I used "Vector Calculus" by Marsden and Tromba, which was adequate for my purposes. If you're not good at translating mathematical jargon into everyday language, you'll find "Div, Grad, and Curl" to be a useful supplement. I had better insight into the physical meaning of the del operator after reading it.

A must for engineering and science students.
If you are an undergraduate engineering or science major, then you need to get a copy of this old classic and become good friends with it.If you are a graduate student or a professional in some branch of engineering or science, and you have not already read this book, then sneak out and get a copy before anybody finds out. (You can pretend that you really knew this stuff all along.)Seriously, this book should be considered Math 101 for scientists and engineers.You simply cannot get by without knowing the basics of vector calculus, curvilinear coordinates, Gauss' law, Stokes' theorem, and of course, the protagonists Divergence, Gradient, and Curl, known to their friends as Div, Grad, and Curl.

This is about as tame a book on vector calculus as you could ever hope to meet, which is part of the reason it's been so popular for so long.It's very easy to read (as far as math texts go), it has many simple but effective illustrations, it has ample exercises (most of which have solutions in the back), and it avoids excessive formalism, instead focusing on the nuts-and-bolts of vector calculus as it most commonly arises in electrostatics, for example.

Math majors will not be so enamored of this book, simply because of its heuristic approach (hence the word "informal" in the subtitle) and its close ties with applications, which it uses as motivation. Moreover, Schey does not develop differential forms or exterior calculus, which logically subsume and extend the material in this book (at the expense of far greater abstraction, which the majority of engineering and science students will prefer to avoid or at least delay).Instructors, if you teach electrostatics or fluid dynamics, you may wish to consider having this as a supplementary text for your students.It's such a clear and helpful little book your students will really appreciate it.(But, you already knew that.)

Reviews (9)

Excellent practical and accessible reference.
This book is indeed very modular, if you have any previous EM training and the required mathematical skills you won't have any difficulty using this as a practical, working reference. As a consequence of the modularity, there is some repetition of the information but it's a small price to pay for the completeness of the individual modules.

One of my favorite features of the writing is the clear references to previous results making it easy to review the references (and completely eliminates any need to search the index).I far prefer this to the usual method to make only vague references to previously developed concepts and is one reason why I find this is a good reference work.

Overall, the level is more advanced than Cook though better written.Some of the development of the material is rather novel (e.g., Amperes Law) and considerably more approachable than corresponding works by Smythe (ugh), Peck, or Stratton.I recommend Feynmans lectures in addition to this book. I find the two complement each other quite nicely.

Nicely done.
I believe there are basically two breeds in the world of EM textbooks. One is obviously J.D. Jackson and the other E.M. Purcell. If Griffiths follows Purcell's approach, I'd say Wangsness is in the style of Jackson (of course no direct comparison is possible, Jackson does not really discuss statics anyway).

Wangness is very much _detailed_ and provides ample examples, many of them kindly worked out. I am not sure if this book provides strong background in vector calculus, though. I always had troubles getting some geometrical intuitions. I guess I have learned more from Purcell in this respect.

Of course, there are many other great books such as Lorrain/Corson, Feynman volume 2 and such. Should be nice to look at those as well.

Not the greatest, but respectable.
... one might note that this book is developed in such a waythat makes it quite modular. At first Wangsness develops an examplecompletely, often leading to daunting equations. This is wonderful. However if you want to pick and choose a few key assumptions, and developed a more specific case, you can do that with Wagness' help, as well.

Reviews (75)

Excellent Undergrad Book
I am a graduate student in Physics and having learnt Electrodynamics from this book in my undergrad, I recommend this book to all undergrads. Some profs. may say that his style is too personal and not professional but I liked the way he talked in first person. It gave me a impression that I was sitting with him and learning!

About the Book: The first 4 chapters deal with Electrostatics, next two with Magnetostatics and the remaining with Electrodynamics. There are practice problems after each section and tons of problems after each chapter. So, in all there is a lot to practise and apply the concepts.

The book assume little background in Physics and Mathematics. Of course, you should have taken Calc 1 and 2 before starting on this. But the book begins with Vector Calculus which is required for the course.

The book is a great self-study tool. One can work independently and learn all. It is also a good reference book for Grads, especially if they are using Jackson (Classical Electrodynamics). I always go back to it when I do not understand what Jackson says. Again if you are preparing for GRE or Qualifiers, this is the best book you can possibly have!

No no...not this one
This probably is the most popular book on the subject for undergraduates. I now believe it is the most popular, not because it is the best, but probably because it is the only book, that is extensive enough to cater to the requirements of a variety of courses, offered around the globe to undergraduates in Electrodynamics.
However, the treatment isnt too good. At a number of places, the author ends up making things looking much more difficult and confusing than they actually are. And at atleast one point, he even says that he expects the student to go through the passage a number of times, before he/she understands it. I find that outrageous. If he knew it was hard to understand, couldnt he put it in a simpler way, rather than asking the student to go through it again and again.
Coming to the exercises, they are hard, particularly the ones at the end of the chapter. And, to add to the students problems, the author doesnt even provide the answers (or hints) to most of them.
Dont waste your money. This book isnt worth it.

Reviews (7)

Le meilleur livre sur les couscous boulettes
Bref, c'est tres bien sauf que beaucoup d'erreur se sont glisses dans le livre. C'est le probleme principal de ce livre est que l'audience est tres restreinte aux eleves de secondes. J'en appelle donc au serieux de l'auteur pour se relire quand meme.

Il est ecrit que Integrale infinie de la derivee est egale a la fonction identite, non c'est faux. la constante a disparu. Beaucoup d'autres erreurs similaires sont surprenantes.

A perfect introduction
This book is the best introduction to advanced electromagnetic theory I have ever encountered. The author does a masterly job at simplifying the mathematics without over-simplifying the physics. If you're looking to gaina deep understanding of electromagnetics and its relation to the theory ofrelativity, this book is for you!

Reviews (1)

Reviews (4)

Paul Lorrain's Electromagnetic Fields and Waves
Readers should start a campaign to reprint and/or get a new edition of this book. Professor Paul Lorrain is not only a recipient of the Legion of Honor of France and the equivalent of Montreal, Canada, but his book is a work of CREATIVE GENIUS.His problems contain very interestingapplications of electromagnetism which both the public and specialists canidentify with, including magnetic monopoles (very strange theoreticalentities with only one pole instead of the usual north and south poles ofmagnets - see my reviews of Kursunoglu, Frolov, Klapdor-Kleingothaus, etc.)that are predicted by physics Grand Unified Theories, superconductors which have turned out to have remarkably important uses today (and theferromagnetism which is closely related to them), the earth's magneticfield which is related to modern geophysics, hysteresis which is related toan important modern branch of nonlinear mathematics as well, artificialsatellites which are so important today, solar wind which is extremelyimportant today, and even the theory of continuous creation of electriccharge.In addition, there are many chapters on electromagnetics inrelativity (see my reviews of Weinberg and Misner et al.), Maxwell'sequations, magnetic fields, electric fields, plane electromagnetic waves(see my review of A. Bohm), guided waves, radiation.Lorrain makeselectromagnetism interesting, open minded on new ideas, andinterdisciplinary, all characteristics of Creative Genius.The generalpublic should also hire consultants or tutors to summarize this book oreven teach it to them - it is well worth the effort because its ideas applyto fields far beyond physics.It should be mentioned that Lorrain et algive excellent summaries in the book, but the general reader might wantsome of them translated into closer to elementary mathematics or evenapproximately English.

good book
It is a good book and I can learn very lessons from this book

Reviews (1)

Great reference work.
This book is intended primarily for students of Physics or Electrical Engineering at the junior or senior levels, although some schools will prefer to use it with first-year
graduate students. The book should also be useful for scientists and engineers who wish to review the subject.

The aim of this book is to give the reader a working knowledge of the basic concepts of electromagnetism. Indeed, as Alfred North Whitehead stated, half a century
ago, "Education is the acquisition of the art of the utilization of knowledge." This explains the relatively large number of examples and problems. It also explains why
we have covered fewer subjects more thoroughly. For instance, Laplace's equation is solved in rectangular and in spherical coordinates, but not in cylindrical
coordinates.

CONTENTS
A chapter on vectors (Chapter 1), a discussion of Legendre's differential equation (Section 4.5), an appendix on the technique that involves replacing cos wt by exp jwt,
and an appendix on wave propagation.

After the introductory chapter on vectors, Chapters 2, 3, and 4 describe electrostatic fields, both in a vacuum and in dielectrics. All of Chapter 4 is devoted to the
solution of Laplace's and of Poisson's equations.

Chapter 5 is a short exposition of the basic concepts of special relativity, with little reference to electric charges. It requires nothing more, in the way of mathematics,
than elementary differential calculus and the vector analysis of Chapter 1. Chapter 6 contains a demonstration of Maxwell's equations that is based on Coulomb's law
and on the Lorentz transformation and which is valid only for the case where the charges move at constant velocities.

Chapters 7 and 8 deal with the conventional approach to the magnetic fields associated with constant and with variable currents. Here, as elsewhere, references to
Chapter 6 may be disregarded.

Chapter 9 contains a discussion of magnetic materials that parallels, to a certain extent, that of Chapter 3 on dielectrics.

In Chapter 10, the Maxwell equation for the curl of B is rediscovered, without using relativity. This is followed by a discussion of the four Maxwell equations, as well
as of some of their more general implications. The point of view is different from that of Chapter 6, and there is essentially no repetition.

The last four chapters, 11 to 14, concern various applications of Maxwell's equations: plane waves in infinite media in Chapter 11, reflection and refraction in Chapter
12, guided waves in Chapter 13, and radiation in Chapter 14. The only three media considered in Chapters 11 and 12 are perfect dielectrics, good conductors, and
low-pressure ionized gases. Similarly, Chapter 13 is limited to the two simplest types of guided wave, namely the TEM mode in coaxial lines and the TE1,0 mode in
rectangular guides. Chapter 14 discusses electric and magnetic dipoles and quadrupoles, as well as the essential ideas concerning the half-wave antenna, antenna arrays,
and the reciprocity theorem.
For a basic and relatively simple course on electromagnetism, one could study only Chapters 2, 3 (less Sections 3.3, 3.4, 3.8, 3.9, and 3.10), 4 (less Sections 4.4 and
4.5), 7, 8, 9 (less Section 9.3 but conserving the equation v - B = 0), and 10. For a rather advanced course, on the other hand, Chapters 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, and 9 could be
reviewed briefly using the summaries at the end of each chapter. One would then start with Chapter 6, and then go on to Chapter 10 and the following chapters. There
are, of course, many other possibilities.

Reviews (3)

I'm from Raleigh too
And I find this an okay book. Hey other guy from Raleigh, was it really that bad? Do you think it's worse than the previous book, by Griffiths? Do you know of a much better EM textbook?

this is one of the better books on E&M
the last reviewer doesnt know what he/she is talking about. this is one of the best books around. the explanation is very clear
and is always geared toward understanding the physics of what the hell is going on. the examples are all practical and emphasize the physics. not just calculate "this" or "that""here" and "there". just
go to a bookstore and take a look at the book and u see what i
mean. i was trying to understand what is the magnetic pressure
and i looked at 10 books, this one has the best illustration.
also the special relativity is very clear.

Reviews (1)

A must-have book.
Most people don't know this book exists, and I wish I had known about it when I was an undergraduate, but at least I have it in my library now!I originally tracked down a used copy of this out of print book because the author (Nayfeh) happened to be the professor of the electrodynamics class I took in grad school.Copies of this book can be difficult to find, but are well worth the effort.

The book is a treasure trove of solved elecrodynamics problems.It has 300 worked examples, and half of the problems have answers to them in the back of the book.The book also covers some subjects that are neglected in Griffiths, such as magnetic scalar potential (something Griffiths makes no use of, but can be a real life saver), and magnetic circuits.

All in all I'd say that this book is slightly more rigorous than Griffiths, but nowhere near the level of the infamous Jackson's textbook.

Reviews (1)

A must-have book.
Most people don't know this book exists, and I wish I had known about it when I was an undergraduate, but at least I have it in my library now!I originally tracked down a used copy of this out of print book because the author (Nayfeh) happened to be the professor of the electrodynamics class I took in grad school.Copies of this book can be difficult to find, but are well worth the effort.

The book is a treasure trove of solved elecrodynamics problems.It has 300 worked examples, and half of the problems have answers to them in the back of the book.The book also covers some subjects that are neglected in Griffiths, such as magnetic scalar potential (something Griffiths makes no use of, but can be a real life saver), and magnetic circuits.

All in all I'd say that this book is slightly more rigorous than Griffiths, but nowhere near the level of the infamous Jackson's textbook.

Reviews (5)

Not to be used as a reference or self study
I'm writing this review to bolster the review written by glires. I believe that glires's review is very accurate. This book assumes the reader already has a working knowledge of electromagnetism.

This is not a book for self-study. If you want a self study book (or a light reference), I would recommend using David J. Griffiths book or some other book for introductory EMAG. (The book I originally learned from is no longer in print so I can't really recommend it).

That being said, once you get into chapter 3, the book is excellent. This book also uses the paradigm that solving problems is how you learn the theory. So, as glires noted, much of the proofing is left for you to do in the problems at the end of each chapter.

Also as glires noted, this is not a useful reference. There is no single location where all constants and formulas are listed.

Detailed, but not thorough
This text covers several topics that other books tend to overlook, making it a frequent choice for undergraduate courses.However, the effectiveness of the book is dependent primarily on the quality of the counterpart teacher, as the book is quite difficult to understand on its own.
Many of the proofs in the book omit the most difficult and complicated steps, which are above the level of an undergraduate to be able to work on their own.Also, the book chooses to rigorously prove certain Electromagnetic properties while completely omitting other while still assuming that the reader has a full knowledge of both.
As a reference, this book also falls short in that, in the fourth edition at least, most of the important constants and equations are left scattered throughout the text and not included in the summaries.Also, many of the fundamental mathematical tools are not presented in their entirety and instead rely on the completion of the problems at the end of the chapters.While this is good in that it motivates the student to do the calculations themselves, it offers no recourse to a student who has made a mistake in any problem or who lacks a preexisting intuitive knowledge of the material.

Reviews (5)

Not to be used as a reference or self study
I'm writing this review to bolster the review written by glires. I believe that glires's review is very accurate. This book assumes the reader already has a working knowledge of electromagnetism.

This is not a book for self-study. If you want a self study book (or a light reference), I would recommend using David J. Griffiths book or some other book for introductory EMAG. (The book I originally learned from is no longer in print so I can't really recommend it).

That being said, once you get into chapter 3, the book is excellent. This book also uses the paradigm that solving problems is how you learn the theory. So, as glires noted, much of the proofing is left for you to do in the problems at the end of each chapter.

Also as glires noted, this is not a useful reference. There is no single location where all constants and formulas are listed.

Detailed, but not thorough
This text covers several topics that other books tend to overlook, making it a frequent choice for undergraduate courses.However, the effectiveness of the book is dependent primarily on the quality of the counterpart teacher, as the book is quite difficult to understand on its own.
Many of the proofs in the book omit the most difficult and complicated steps, which are above the level of an undergraduate to be able to work on their own.Also, the book chooses to rigorously prove certain Electromagnetic properties while completely omitting other while still assuming that the reader has a full knowledge of both.
As a reference, this book also falls short in that, in the fourth edition at least, most of the important constants and equations are left scattered throughout the text and not included in the summaries.Also, many of the fundamental mathematical tools are not presented in their entirety and instead rely on the completion of the problems at the end of the chapters.While this is good in that it motivates the student to do the calculations themselves, it offers no recourse to a student who has made a mistake in any problem or who lacks a preexisting intuitive knowledge of the material.

Reviews (5)

Cheap but good
You can't possibly get more for your money than this book.Don't let the price fool you - this is a well written book on electromagnetics.

Outstanding example of good pedagogy
Most EM texts out there are overpriced and underwritten. They use color drawings and shiny, glossy pages to make up for lack of content. Shadowitz's book is the exact opposite: it's a dover edition, which means it's cheap and doesn't look as good. But this is one of those cases in which you shouldn't judge a book by its cover.
Shadowitz is everything a serious student would like: it covers 1st/2nd year electromagnetism with great detail. It covers many topics, from basic electrostatics and vector analysis, to radiation theory and special relativity. The explanations are always kept clear. A physical context is always provided. Many solved examples are scattered throughout the text. The problems are instructive and odd-numbered ones have solutions at the end of the book. I simply cannot feel sorry that not all books are as good as this one. Although with most Dover books you get what you pay for (which isn't much), this book is an exception. Even if you're studying advanced EM and are using, say, Jackson's text, Shadowitz's text makes a great companion.
I have a few minor quibbles with the book, mainly its use of SI units, but Shadowitz provides appendices which explain how to convert between the various systems.

Reviews (3)

A Good Back Up
I recently took Electrodynamics with Jackson and frequently used this book as a backup/reference. I highly recommend it for that purpose, but it was not very useful as a learning tool by itself.

Another good electromagnetics book
This is a great book!The treatment is accessible and the section on electrostatics is outstanding in comparison with many other books.The author goes out of his way to both explain the subject in detail and to share his rather obvious enjoyment of the subject.This is another case of "if you read all these books then you will know electrodynamics".Not everything is here but it is a great supplemental text and reference.I don't know if anyone is using it as a single textbook for a course however.For the practical physicist in solid state, optics, electrodynamics, etc. this is a must have.

Isbn: 0486428303
Sales Rank: 456405
Subjects:  1. Electricity    2. Electromagnetism    3. Physics    4. Science    5. Science/Mathematics    6. Science / Physics   

Features

• Unabridged

Reviews (1)

Reviews (5)

This was the book on electromagnetics I'd been looking for.
I am a amateur radio operator and have degrees in mathematics.I was looking for a book that would show the derivation of the equations but also give a good feel for what they mean.Although the "proofs" in this book do not go down to as fine a detail as possible, I found it has just the right depth to keep focused on the meaning of the equations.

After grinding through the text and working all the exercises I am now in a position to usefully read deeper works. I was particularly happy that the book derives the equations for the field due to a short dipole (three different ways!) and also gives the basics of waveguides.These are very important to those interested in radio communications.

I can now see why Rojansky was a legend where he taught.

Excellent explanation of Maxwell's eqns
Thoroughly enjoyable, patiently explaining most of the mathematical concepts. This is the clearest and most accessible exposition of Maxwell's eqns I have seen.

Well-Paced, Careful Presentation, Moderate Difficulty
This text sits midway in difficulty between a first year physics treatment of E&M and more advanced texts like Lorrain and Carson's Electromagnetic Fields and Waves and Jackson's Classical Electrodynamics. Dr. Rojansky argues that most students require a patient, carefuldiscussion of fundamentals before undertaking advanced studies. His bookmoves at a leisurely pace, sytematically laying down a solid foundation.However, unlike many first year physics texts, he assumes that the readeris familiar with integration methods and partial differentiation. He doesdevote a few chapters to reviewing fundamentals that will be useful later -curves and surfaces, solid angles, Taylor's Theorem in three dimensions,vector fields, cylindrical and spherical coordinates.

Somewhat earlyRojansky introduces a simple physical model, a copper block with acylindrical hole, and then frequently revisits this model to addressincreasingly complex problems.It proves to be an effective way to linkmore advanced sections to earlier lessons.

During new derivations,references are often made to earlier derivations and results (by equationand section number). I had to stop, thumb back to earlier sections to finda result, and then move back to the derivation at hand.Rojansky's text isnot unique in this respect, but at times I did find it annoying.

Rojansky assumes that the reader works most exercises (or at leastthinks seriously about them) and should you fail to do so, you could findyourself returning to earlier sections for review.The problems are notoverly difficult and useful hints are provided.Answers are not providedand it may be helpful to refer to a general problem set (likeSchaum's).

Reviews (3)

no title
I have taken physics courses from one of the authors, Milton, and they were some of the best classes I have taken in physics.During the semester, first the foundation is laid then everything builds else builds from it. What comes next is built on what was was taught before. Everything is logical and is built up on what waslectured on previously. Take a few concepts and develop them really well, rather than a shotgun approach of more topics but less detail.This book is of the same style. I highly recommend it.

The physics and mathematics of electrodynamics
This is a concise, clear, and coherent account of advanced classical electrodynamics. The equation density is higher than in most books. Mostly this means that intermediate steps of the many illuminating calculations ofthe book are included. Many interesting topics not normally included inthis type of book are included. A lot of the mathematics needed isdeveloped in detail. I recommed it strongly to both teachers and advancedstudents of the subject.

Reviews (66)

Great book, but certainly not for the timid...
This book will challenge your scholastic aptitude. My prof who taught me this book solved ALL the problems when he was a graduate student at Stanford. He went to Caltech when he was 16 and is also the inventor of the free electron laser. You don't have to be smart like him, but get ready to really push yourself. Or else, you won't survive.

The book for electrodynamics
A legend in its field; precise, vast, clear and once u can handle the math needed very rewarding. Simply a must for a physicist, reguardless the field. Furthermore a nice book for the eye and well made, so you wont have issues of this book falling appart in ur arms after a few openings.